Jerry Pellegrino

Host, Radio Kitchen

Executive Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Corks restaurant is fascinated by food and wine, and the way they work in harmony on the palate. His understanding of the two goes all the way to the molecular level, drawing on his advanced education in molecular biology. His cuisine is simple and surprising, pairing unexpected ingredients together to work with Corks' extensive wine offerings.

His restaurant is set in a quaint 1849 rowhouse in Baltimore's Historic Federal Hill and he has transformed it into what Baltimore Magazine called "a miniature utopia for wine lovers". But wine is just half of the equation. Corks is a restaurant where diners can be swept up in Chef Pellegrino's passion for food and wine and discover the distinctiveness of ingredients and the way they work together.

Chef Pellegrino is a member of the local board for the American Institute of Wine and Food, Vice Chancellor Culinare of the Baltimore Bailliage of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers and often featured in cooking segments on local television. Under his guidance, Corks has been named one of Baltimore's top 65 restaurants every year since opening in 1997 and has been given "The Wine Spectator" award of excellence.

Ways to Connect

Let's have three cheers for springtime and the re-opening of the farmers markets. This is a time for early abundance with all those delights of what the Italians call, the Primavera. For Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, one of the first indulgences are salad greens, in bewildering profusion.

Interestingly enough there is actually a vegetable named ‘Spring Greens’. It is a member of the cabbage family and related to kale. It is cold tolerant, like the first cabbages of the year and has fresh, loose heads without the hard heart of other cabbages. It is great sautéed or boiled with garlic and olive oil. But we really wanted to talk about are the fun things we see in the springtime that are green!

A couple weeks ago I was shopping in the Waverly Farmers Market and I bought a nice head of cabbage from my friends at Eden Farm. I took it home, and over the course of the next week I got three meals out of it. So as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School would suggest, once again we have proof of cabbage's incredible versatility.

April is, among other things, National Noodle Month, which gives us a chance to think outside the noodle box for a moment. Whereas most pasta and noodles are made with the simplest ingredients, there are no rules saying you can't get a little more inventive. Thanks to a nifty piece of hardware, we can easily turn vegetables like carrots and squash into something very closely resembling noodles.

The tool in question is a spiral vegetable slicer. You pop a roughly cylindical vegetable into the mouth of the tool, twist and turn according to instructions, and a pile of tidy noodle shaped vegetables emerges. The slices can be thin spaghetti style or broader fettuccine or anything in between.

Some of these gadgets look like tiny kitchen lathes, and others are something like a tube with a cutting blade inside. Regardless, they are inexpensive, ranging from as little as $10 up to about $40.

With your vegetable noodle maker in hand what can you do with it? Well Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School has an armful of ideas.

One of the things we do really well in Maryland is peppers. Our soil and climate are perfect for the entire range of peppers, from the mildest to the hottest.

One of Jerry Pellegrino's favorite thing to do with peppers is to whip up some of the classic Mexican salsas. Here are a few of his favorite. Some of these ingredients can be found in the Latino bodegas that a scattered around town.

I happen to be as patriotic as the next guy, but even I am forced to admit there are certain things the French do better than just about anybody else. Perfume, champagne and truffles come to mind... and so do French pastries. Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School agrees. He has had a number of French guests come into his school lately, and he has learned a thing or two. Here are three recipes that will challenge you, but give you impressive results.

With St. Patrick's Day looming we thought it would be a good idea to help you think past corned beef and cabbage and take a fresh look at modern Irish cooking. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School says, it seems to be high time to re-calibrate our thinking.

So with that in mind, here are a few classic Irish recipes done up for modern tastes and techniques.

If you can't just hop on a plane and fly to somewhere exotic, like, say, Sardinia, you can do the next best thing. And that would be to book a table at Daniela Restaurant in Hampden where you will be treated to the next best thing.

Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School and I invited Chef Daniela Useli to tell us about how she brings a little piece of Sardinia to Hampden.

It's a comfort to think that spring is creeping up on us and in a few weeks the markets will be open with the first produce of the year, some of it grown in hoop houses. And one of the first things we can expect is spinach, and that makes us smile.

The first spinach, which often has been exposed to cold crisp air, is often the sweetest. Besides its marvelous flavor, spinach is, as Popeye averred, really healthy for you. It's a great nutrient delivery vehicle, and the only caveat we can offer is not to over-cook it.

Years and years ago, each and every spring, a Baltimore landmark restaurant called Danny's would hang a mysterious sign outside their front door. "The Run is On" said the sign, and every spring I would be left puzzling what that was all about. And I call myself a Baltimorean. Well, I don't have to tell you it meant that the shad were running and shad roe was on the menu. It was a rite of spring.

I was making the rounds at my local farmers market last week, looking for something off the beaten path in the meat department. I stopped by Woolsey Farm's stand, famous for their excellent lamb, and it hit me. I could get a pound or two of ground lamb and see what I could do with it.

Lamb and beef are mostly interchangeable, but there are differences. Lamb's flavor is quite distinct from beef, so a lamb cheeseburger might not exactly hit the same spot. But ground lamb is nothing if not versatile, and it does open up doors to more exotic culinary traditions.

Today is Valentine's Day and for those of you who are romantically inclined, we have a suggestion. From where I sit, few things are as likely to earn you a kiss as a bubbling pot of cheese fondue. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School would argue, it's undeniable: sharing a fondue over candlelight is flat-out romantic.

Next week is our annual celebration of love and affection and along with a bouquet of flowers, a box of candy seems quite appropriate.

Ordinarily we would dash off to Glauber's or Wockenfuss, but truth to tell, there is an alternative. According to Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, homemade candy is a distinct possibility.

Here are some simple recipes that will result in amazingly tempting candies. You don't need to achieve high artistic perfection with these recipes. It's the thought that counts.

During these cold winter months there are any number of clever, forward thinking people who are enjoying homemade sauces using the tomatoes they canned last summer. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School preaches, if these folks have any sense, they'll be looking up some of the classic sauces of Italy.

We're casting a wide net and bringing in a few other sauces that are not necessarily tomato based, just to be a little more comprehensive.

When Al was a kid there were few things his parents fixed to eat that impressed him. He said his dad's Thanksgiving turkey was a knock-out, and his mom's homemade fudge got his attention. But when his dad suddenly, out of nowhere, whipped up a couple dozen donuts from scratch, he was impressed. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, shows us that you don't have to go out to Dunkin Donuts to satisfy that particular craving.

In the bleak mid-winter I sometimes ponder the Chesapeake watermen who are out there dredging up oysters for our pleasure. It's tough life, but we're glad they do it, because a Chesapeake oyster is a wonderful thing. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, there's more to oysters than just shucking and slurping.

A couple weeks ago we resolved to eat more of the many alternative whole grains out there. Turning away from standard starches like white potatoes and white rice, we are now more interested in some of the more obscure, but delicious grains.

In keeping with last week's show about New Year's Resolutions, I have personally resolved to eat more all-vegetable meals this coming year. So I have surfed through the internet and found a treasure trove of recipes that would appeal to me personally. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School observes, winter is actually a great time to whip up some veggie stews and soups.

With New Year's Day fast upon us, it might be a good time to examine our eating habits and see if there is any room for improvement. Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School points out, a lot of New Year's Resolutions are in fact food related... like dieting, for example.

Although some people may think that Beef Wellington is hopelessly passé in today's sleek, modern culinary environment, I seriously doubt they would turn up their snarky noses at a plate of this great holiday tradition. And as fancy as Beef Wellington is, it isn't terribly difficult to make.

Back in the 40's when the old Howard Johnson's chain added pot pie to their standard menu, you know that it had become an American icon. This classic example of comfort food is both simple and satisfying. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can testify, as simple as pot may be, there are lots of little twists and turns you can explore as you make it.

Heirloom tomatoes opened the door for a new appreciation of bygone produce, and that led to a re-examination of long forgotten livestock breeds. One of the most successful heritage breed hogs are raised right here in Maryland. So we invited our pal Shane Hughes of Liberty Delight Farms in Reisterstown to talk to us about the Berkshire pig.

I've read that there is one thing that all societies have in common when it comes to food: if you have any kind of flour available in your kitchen, you make some sort of a dumpling. And Chef JP of Schola Cooking School, has been pondering these tempting little bundles of goodness.

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days off, we thought we'd give you some ideas for last minute desserts. You might want to serve something that is right at hand, easy to prepare and sure to please. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School suggests, one dish that fills all those criteria is baked apples.

A lot of us spent a portion of summer's closing weeks putting up and preserving that great Maryland produce. Now it's time to use it. A good tangy salsa is a great destination for, say preserved tomatoes, peppers and garlic, and what better way to enjoy a salsa than with a taco. Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, give us some tips on fixing homemade tacos.

November 8, 2016 - Radio Kitchen - Liz Nuttle and Seasonings for Stews

This is the season of the big stew pot, of big hearty dishes that inevitably call for a big hot loaf of crusty bread on the side. It's a pleasure to stroll up and down the aisles of the farmers markets in the Fall, mentally putting together recipes with the ingredients that are right there at hand.

If you're checking out our farmers markets these days, you may be more than a little impressed with the abundance our display. Among the champion vegetables of autumn are the wonderful squashes that come out. And if you think that only means butternut, think again. According to Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School, there's quite an amazing assortment out there.

October 25, 2016 - Radio Kitchen - Berkshire is Best with Shane Hughes

Welcome to Radio Kitchen, I'm Al Spoler. We all know the story of heirloom tomatoes, and how easily they ended up fitting into our summer salads. These long-lost varieties charmed us with their appearance, flavor and distinctly quaint names. What not everyone realizes is that the same thing has happened with livestock.

That cool snap in the air is so welcome after a particularly hot summer. And it may be my imagination but I think that cool air carries the aroma of cooking food in a way that puts a smile on my face. This is the time for soup making, ideally a day-long process that puts a keen edge on your appetite. Here are some of Jerry's ideas for simple soups.

After spending a heat-stressed summer in Maryland I'm really in need of some restful, meditative therapy. And as luck would have it, Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School has been practicing an ancient form of therapeutic baking.

Welcome to Radio Kitchen, I'm Al Spoler. Sometimes we Americans think we're the only people in the world who understand barbecue. Now I'm not saying we don't get it awesomely right... but there are other places that have pretty strong traditions of their own.

And Chef Jerry Pelligrino of Schola Cooking School, you've been looking into something totally new to me.